Pass on savings from Carbon Tax repeal or else: ACCC

by adavies

Adam Davies
Senior Journalist

Adam was born in New South Wales and was educated at the prestigious Scots College in Sydney.
He has worked both in Australia and United Kingdom for some of the largest newspapers in the two respective countries.
He joined APN as a senior journalist at The Chronicle in Toowoomba in 2010, before moving to APN’S Brisbane Newsdesk in 2013 where he covered politics and court.
Adam won a 2015 Queensland Clarion Award - the state's premier journalism awards - and was named 2011 APN Daily Reporter of...

THE consumer watchdog has warned companies, businesses and councils who do not pass on savings to consumers now the carbon tax has been repealed will be in their crosshairs.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims said on Tuesday more than 20 councils around the country put their rates up based on carbon tax costs.

Those councils include Fraser Coast, Maranoa, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Western Downs Regional Councils along with Noosa Shire Council.

Councils in New South Wales who passed on carbon tax costs to ratepayers include Albury, Cessnock, Dubbo, Shellharbour, Griffith, Maitland, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong and Wyong City Councils.

Mr Sims said there were 84 business in Queensland and 74 in New South Wales which did the same.

He said the onus would be on the businesses to prove they had passed on savings.

"The ACCC will be keeping a close eye on prices to make sure that all cost savings go to consumers," he said.

"These businesses will be required to explain how the carbon tax repeal affected their input costs and how they are passing through the savings.

"If suppliers of regulated goods put their prices up due to the carbon tax, these prices must similarly come down.

"If these businesses do not do that they will be looking at serious court action from the ACCC and significant monetary penalties."

A supplier of regulated goods that fails to pass through all cost savings attributable to the carbon tax repeal will breach the carbon tax price reduction obligation and may face court imposed penalties of up to $1.1 million per contravention for corporations or $220,000 per contravention for an individual.

The court can also issue injunctions or declarations, make compensation orders or orders setting the maximum price of a regulated good or requiring the supplier to pay refunds to consumers.